Dr. Kiefner, I dissent
Dr. Robert S. Kiefner’s latest commentary was as always brillant and deeply engaging( Letter: Voltaire Revisited, Oct. 8). He’s one of the finest human beings on earth, nevertheless I must respectfully invite three philosophical heavyweights Plato, Aristotle and Kant to side with me against his defense of Voltaire.
Dr. Kiefner uses Voltaire to argue that pragmatism must override perfection in this election. But when political pragmatism requires us to accept absolute moral compromise we drift into dangerous territory. Immanuel Kant would fiercely dissent reminding us that duty and human dignity are absolute-never to be watered down for convenience. Plato would argue that by settling for a flawed “good” we trap ourselves in a shadow-cave of moral complacency. Even Aristotle, the pioneer of practical balance maintained that our actions must always aim for ultimate human flourishing, not a mediocre surrender of principle.
We see this ethical failure locally. Congressman Chris Pappas denies the ongoing genocide Israel is committing against the Palestinian people. Republican John E. Sununu has essentially aligned himself with the genocide’s architect Benjamin Netanyahu.
Demanding that our leaders actively oppose a genocide is not an elusive “perfect” standard. As Kant, Plato and Aristotle would agree, it is the baseline of basic human decency. Out of respect for Dr. Kiefner’s intellectual rigor, we must refuse to let Voltaire’s pragmatism blind us to what is fundamentally right.